AGENCIES

Uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz deepened yesterday after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized two container ships trying to cross, hours after US President Donald Trump unilaterally extended a ceasefire to allow more time for talks.

Trump said on social media late on Tuesday that the US had agreed to a request by Pakistani mediators “to hold our attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal ... and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

A source briefed on the matter yesterday confirmed that Trump had not set a timeline for the extension of the ceasefire.

Despite the extension, Trump has maintained a US Navy blockade of Iran’s trade by sea. Iran considers the blockade an act of war and has said that as long as it continues, it will not lift its closure of the strait, which has caused a global energy crisis.

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